+JMJ+
I've heard Protestants talk about wanting to regain the "faith of the early church", as if there was something magically purer and more innocent about the faith of those who wrote Scripture and those who were under their teachings.
What many, many people fail to see is that the better part of 100 years had passed since Christ before the last Apostle died. Thus, the "early church", so-called, had been in existence for all of that time.
70 years. Twice as long a time as Our Lord was walking the earth.
Do Protestants really think that 70 years was not enough time for liturgy and tradition to develop, especially since the people doing the teaching during that entire span were Apostles and their immediate successors?
Share your experiences with Protestants who have told you about their desire to be like "the early church" in this thread; also feel free to quote the 1st- and 2nd-century Fathers who wrote about the Apostles and the people who learned from them.
Can you just imagine all the people of the Church sitting around in 65 A.D. with their Bibles and their guitars, having informal "worship services" and "Bible studies"?
I've actually had people suggest that their Protestant "bible studies" or "small groups" were JUST LIKE the "early church" because there were no buildings and there was NO HIERARCHY of authority, just people who chose a "leader", more like a "facilitator" than an actual shepherd of souls.
This, of course, was because the people speaking were stubborn self-determinists who believe they have a special unction from the "spirit" to read and interpret Scripture in such a way that even if they are wrong, their "sincerity" and "faith" are meritorious before God.
Kyrie eleison.
St. Anthony of Padua, hammer of heretics, terror of Hell, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, triumph soon!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.